Sunday 28 September 2014

A BIT ABOUT LORD INDRA'S 'AERIAL CAR' OR 'VIMANA' AS MENTIONED IN THE VALMIKI RAMAYANA

We join the Valmiki Ramayana at the point when Sri Rama has killed the 'demon' Viradha (the killing of Viradha is the first act of Sri Rama in eliminating negative forces in his empire to establish Rama Rajya ) and enters the hermitage of Sage Sharabhanga on his pre-ordained route.

Sage Sharabhanga is about to ascend Lord Indra's aerial chariot to ascend 'heaven' with but declines to go with Indra after he gets the news of Sri Rama's arrival (though he does proceed to 'heaven' later after passing through a 'yogic' fire).

The Ramayana says that on his approach at the hermitage of Sage Sharabhanga, Sri Rama sees a great wonder f
rom close proximity.[3-5-3b, 4].

Sri Rama
sees Lord Indra mounted on a great chariot that does not touch the earth, he also sees other 'divinities' attending him, and many more great-souls worshipping him. (Valmiki Ramayana Book 3, Chapter 5 Verses 5,6,7a)

Lord Indra's 'aerial car' does not touch the earth' - Valmiki Ramayana.

Sri Rama sees at his very nearby a chariot yoked with green horses that traverses in the sky. In its splendour the chariot is like the noontime sun, or a cluster of silver clouds, or like the silvern sphere of the moon. (Valmiki Ramayana Book 3, Chapter 5 Verses 7b-8).

Lord Indra's aerial care is held in the sky with 'green horses'.
Picture Courtesy: www.ufocasebook.com

And the celestials like gandharvas, amaras, siddhaas and very many great sages as well are praising Indra who is abiding in the sky. (Valmiki Ramayana Book 3, Chapter 5 Verses 10b, 11a). The gandharvas, amaras and siddhaas are non-human beings.

Sri Rama then on pointing out the chariot expressed his own amazement saying, "Lakshmana see this wonderful chariot that includes effulgence and auspiciousness as well, and that abides in firmament (sky), and highly luminous like the Sun... (Valmiki Ramayana Book 3, Chapter 5 Verses 12b-13).

A depiction of Lord Indra sitting on one of his vahanas Airavata. Arun Mandir, Bangkok, Thailand

Wednesday 24 September 2014

LORD SHIVA OF ISRAEL

Yarikh, is a moon god in the ancient Canaanite religion.The ancient land of Canaan, comprises the modern regions of Israel, the West Bank, Gaza Strip,Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

The English term Canaan appears as 'ki-na-ah-na' in the Amarna letters (14th century BC). That is the same as the Vedic and Sanskrit 'Kaanha' (कान्हा), which is another name of Sri Krishna - actually a mispronunciation of the name 'Krishna' with two lost syllables 'r' and 's'. Also 'Kaanan' (कानन) means 'face of Bramha'.

Indian gods were not unknown in Israel and the rest of the Canaanite region. For more on the Sri Krishna and Sri Rama connection to the Canan civilization click here



Now a bit about the Lord Siva connection to the Canan Civilization. The Canaanite Moon God Yarikh bears a remarkable resemblance to Lord Shiva, the Vedic Moon-god.


Yarikh, the Canaanite Moon God bears a remarkable
resemblance to the Vedic Lord Shiva. 
Yarikh is also known as Lord Sin.

Lord Shiva, the Vedic Moon-God


Yarikh  - The Canaanite Moon God
in the Padmasana yogic posture


The Canaanite Moon God 'Sin'.
Notice the posture and the crescent.
The above  artifact from Israel is also sometimes said 

to depict  Goddess Sin who is the 
Caananite Moon Goddess. Notice the bulls

God Shiva and Goddess Shivi (Parvati)
with Nandi the Bull.



God Yarikh with his insignia.
Israel
Lord Shiva represented by the 'linga'.
India

And on 17th September, 2014, Inna Lazareva reported from , Tel Aviv in The Telegraph that "A 5,000-year-old stone structure in the shape of the crescent moon in northern Israel has been identified to be an ancient monument, predating much of the construction of Stonehenge in England and Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt..... It was initially discovered in the early part of the 20th century, and was thought to form part of an ancient city's defensive walls...But doctoral student Ido Wachtel from Hebrew University in Jerusalem recently made a convincing case that the construction served as a monument in its own right".



Crescent Moon Structure, Israel, dedicated to
 the Yarikh Moon God. The shape is recognized in India
 as Lord Shiva's matted top-knot.


Presenting his findings at the International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East in Switzerland Mr Wachtel said the structure may have been erected to honour the ancient Mesopotamian moon god, ‘Sin’.

One of the most important gods in Mesopotamian mythology, Sin, also known as ‘Nanna’, is symbolised as a crescent moon and is often depicted riding on a winged bull."

Shiv-Pora in Srinagar, Kashmir,India. Shiv-Pora
gets its name from the shape of Shiva's top-knot.


Lord Shiva, who is known as Som-nath,
(or the God of the Moon- 'Soma' is sanskrit for 'moon')
 with Crescent-Moon and his Matted top-knot.

Saturday 20 September 2014

BRAZIL & PERU - PORTALS TO 'HEAVEN' & THE VALMIKI RAMAYANA VERSES

Pedra da Gávea is a mountain in Tijuca Forest, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At 2,769 ft Paedra da Gaeva is one of the highest mountains in the world that end directly in the ocean, therefore making it a beacon, both from the skies and the ocean. When the Portuguese sailors landed on Brazilian shores in 1502 from the Atlantic Ocean, they named the mountain 'Gavea', which means 'topsail' - the sailors saw the shape of a mast in the silhouette of the mountain!

Pedra da Gaeva, Brazil

Pedra da Gaeva is located in a forest by the name Tijuca not far from the city of Rio de Janeiro. It is said that the word 'Tijuca', in the native Tupi language, means 'marsh' (just as they say that Pindorama', the native name of Brazil, means 'Land of the Palms'), but in Sanskrit, a variation of Tijuca is 'Tajika' and that is the name of Lord Indra. Mysterious inscriptions on the mountain give evidence of an extinct language and therefore the presence of a civilization in this part of Brazil.


Ancient inscriptions on the wall of  the Pedra da Gaeva.

One theory propounded by Peter Lacaz do Amaral, an experienced mountaineer guide who climbed the rock several times, states that the mountain was a burial place of a Phoenician king. However there is much debate on the credibility of this de-code, because the Phoenicians did not call themselves Phoenicians, they called themselves Canaan.

Ancient inscriptions on the wall of  the Pedra da Gaeva
dismissed by 'scholars' as 'natural erosion'.

Not only have mainstream scholars rejected Amaral's decode, they have also argued that there are no inscriptions, and what one sees are the marks of natural erosion. But the fact remains that the second argument cannot be deduced from the first.

We not turn to the Valmiki Ramayana for some insight about what it has to say about this region - mainly Peru and beyond the Andes- travelling inland from the South Pacific Ocean towards Peru, the Amazonian Forest and Brazil.

We join the story of Ramayana at the point when Sugreeva, the 'vanara' commander, sends a search party (for the abducted Sita) eastward from the shores of what is now called India, to Java, Sumatra and ahead crossing five oceans over a period of one month. After crossing the five oceans the vanaras are told they will reach the shores of a land mass from where they can see the 'shining three-branched palm tree etched on a mountain', which has been identified as the Paracas Trident of Peru. It is located on the northern face of the Paracas Peninsula at Pisco Bay in Peru on the South Pacific Ocean.


Pisco Bay, Peru
"A golden pylon resembling a palm tree with three branches is established on the peak of that mountain as the insignia of that great-souled Ananta, and it will be lustrous  with a golden podium". 
[Valmiki Ramayana 4-40-53]


And then the Ramayana states that when the 'vanaras' move inland ahead from this ‘shining three-leaved palm constructed as a compass by the celestials’, they reach the glorious Udaya peak or Mt. Sunrise, and beyond that to another peak by the name Mt. Saumanasa where Lord Vishnu set his foot when he first came to the earth. 

But, now the interesting part about Mt. Udaya (after which the Andes range probably gets its name). The Ramayana states, "In the beginning Brahma, the Creator, ordained this Mt. Sunrise to be the gateway for the earth to heaven....". -Valmiki Ramayana, Book 4- verse 64.

The location identified by the Ramayana seems to be in Peru, though there are additional verses that mention about 'celestial activity' in the area beyond the Udaya Mountains.

Thousands of miles away from India, in Peru and beyond it in Brazil where no one would have heard of this verse from the Valmiki Ramayana, local legend has it that there are three portals to other subterranean worlds. Paedra de Gaeva seems to be one of these portals.

The 'portal' found on the left side of the Pedra da Gávea. The Valmiki Ramayana speaks of at least
one 'gateway to heaven' in this region.

Observations of many mountaineers and trekkers about the strange activity and appearance of bright lights on Pedra da Gavea mountains has been rejected and dismissed as hoaxes by the authorities. But how does one explain the following verse in the Ramayana.

Verse 66 of Kishkinda Kand says, "Beyond Mt. Sunrise the eastern quarter is impassable. It will be hemmed in with celestials or gods since it is the gateway to heaven, and everything is imperceivable hedged in oblivion.." -Valmiki Ramayana, Book 4- verse 66.

According to the Native Americans' legend there is an inter-dimensional doorway hidden deep within the Andes Mountains. In her book 'Markawasi, Peru's Inexplicable Stone Forest', author Kathy Doore says, "The native indians of the region had a legend that spoke of 'a gateway to the lands of the Gods', and in that legend, it was said that in times long past great heroes had gone to join their gods, and passed through the gate for a glorious new life of immortality, and on rare occasions those men returned for a short time with their gods to "inspect all the lands in the kingdom" through the gate." One particular stargate is known to be located about 35 km from the city of Puno in Peru.


The ancient Mayan 'stargate' in Puno, Peru,
is the location of many strange activities.
Is this the 'gateway to heaven' which the Ramayana mentions?


The city of Puno is located on the shores of the mystical lake Titicaca. The Ramayana states the land of the Saumansa Peak is known as Sudarshana, named so after the Sudarshana Lake. It is impossible in any way to verify this information. Lake Titicaca has a rich and mystical history, even today it is the largest lake by volume of water in South America. And if any ancient lake of this part of the world were to be mentioned in the Ramayana, it would be lake Titicaca.

Beyond Peru, going inland, one would only encounter the massive Amazon rainforest. Of this the Ramayana says in the last verse of this chapter, "It is possible for the vanara-s to go only up to there ..... and we have no knowledge of those sunless and boundless realms available far and beyond". Valmiki Ramayana, Book 4- Verse 68.

The details about the sea-route from India to Peru described in the Ramayana makes it obvious that the route via the South Pacific Ocean was well known. But not much is written about the route from the Atlantic Ocean on which Paedra de Gaeva is located in Brazil. But Valmiki was well aware of the 'celestial activity' that occurred in the region!


The approximate route that the 'vanara commandoes'
are directed to take in the Ramayana.

Monday 15 September 2014

ANCIENT 'PINDO-RAMA'. TODAY'S BRAZIL -THE RAMAYANA CONNECT AND A BIT ABOUT BRAZILIAN INSCRIPTIONS & THEIR LINK TO 'INDUS VALLEY SCRIPT'

The native name of Brazil is Pindorama and though it is said that Pindorama translates as 'Land of Palms' from Tupi, an ancient American-Indian language, there is much evidence that indicates that Sri Rama, the God-King of Ayodhya in Jambhudvipa, equated variously, with Bharatkhanda- now India, or Asia, and sometimes beyond, was worshipped in this part of the world too.

First, the name Rama appears in many place names in Brazil such as Ramalandia in the state of Parana, which lies along the river by the same name.

In the Vedic tradition 'pinda' (पिण्ड) is a very meaningful word. It often appears in mantras and sutras. For example the Upanashid says 'yatha pindi tatha bramhanda'. 'As is the body so is the universe', or the body is a smaller version of the entire universe.

In Sanskrit, 'pinda' is the 'body', it is the body as the reflection of the 'world'. It is the body as the mirror of the whole universe. The significance of the term Pinda according to Upanasids comes from the belief that Pinda represents 'an organized whole, a unity of diversities'. Pindarama is 'Rama's Universe' or 'Rama 
as someone who is the universe'.

In the Krittivasi Ramayana, Ahiravan (also called 
Mahiravan), brother of Ravana, was a rakshasa who secretly carried away Rama and his brother Lakshmana to the nether-world, consulted his friends and decided to sacrifice the life of the two divine brothers at the altar of his chosen deity, goddess Mahamaya. But Hanuman saved their life by killing Ahiravan and his entire army. The nether-world, also called 'patala' in the Indic tradition is often identified as the South American land-mass. 


In the Valmiki Ramayana, after the abduction of Sita, Sugreeva - the 'vanara' commander, orders his chiefs to 'go round the earth and gather all the monkey champions on earth'. The chiefs go around the world, visit the abodes of the vanaras, located in various mountains, rivers, oceans, and forests and urge them to reach Sugreeva at Kishkinda at once'. (Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkinda Kand, Chapter 37).

Once the 'vanaras' assimilate, Sugreeva divides them into four search parties, and  gives detailed instructions them all about the different routes that each of the parties is to take in search of the abducted Sita. The route-map described in the Ramayana is so detailed and accurate, for it mentions mountains and rivers, seas and oceans and the travel time involved in reaching them, that it is absurd to question Sugreeva's knowledge of the geography of the world beyond the shores of present day India. Refer to Chapters 37, 40, 41, 42 and 43 of the Kishkinda Kand for the details. That one designated search party indeed reached present day Peru is substantiated by the mention in the Ramayana of the ancient Paracas Trident of Peru. For more on this click here.


Archaeological ancient reliefs recovered from Brazil and surrounding lands, which are today regarded as the land of the Aztecs and the Mayans but have a far more ancient history, indicate that the protagonists of the Ramayana, including Sri Rama, Hanuman, Goddess Sita etc. were not unknown in either Brazil, or Honduras, Peru, Bolivia, Guatemala and Mexico. 

There is one unchallengeable archaeological support for the fact that Hanuman was not unknown in that part of the world. It is what the Hondurians refer to as the Mayan Howler Monkey God. But to those who are familiar with the Ramayana and the details of the vist of the monkey Gods to patala Loka or the South American land it is obvious that the Mayan Monkey God is none other than Hanumana.



An ancient sculpture of the 'Howler Monkey God'
of Copan, Hondurous is linked to the Vedic Hanuman

The ancient name of Brazil, that is Pindorama, is also related to an ancient tribe of Brazil by the name 'RamaRama'. The RamaRama were a Tupi speaking group of considerable size living in the Brazilian Amazonian area in a place called Rondonia. When the Spanish rubber-collector's poured into Rondonia in 1880s they brought death and disease to the tribe so that it is now extinct as a culture.

Ancient civilizations such as the Maori's of New Zealand also had a tribe by the name RamaRama. There is a place by the name RamaRama in New Zealand which is 40 km away from the city of Auckland.

Researching the path of ancient sea-farers from India, Frank Joseph states in his book 'Archaeological Discoveries of Ancient America', "A general population spread, from India into Pacific and beyond the shores of South America, may begin with native Maori oral history in New Zealand. Folk tradition recounts that 161 generations ago (approximately 1500 BC), Maori ancestors migrated en-masse from a hot country called Iriha in the wake of war.... The Maoris' ancient 'Iriha' is an obvious variation of Vrihia, an ancient name for India...".

Joseph adds, "...archaeological digs throughout the Pacific suggest the Vedic mariners colonized areas as far eastward as Samoa and Tonga including Fiji.. and further on...".

Joseph also states that the names Kuru and Pandava finds its way into Peruvian ancient books as Urus and Puruha and is remembered by Peru's Ayamara tribes. The mixed descendants of some Urus still live on floating reed beds at Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. Recently archaeologists have discovered huge amounts of gold artifacts in the lake Titicaca region which are at the least 4000 years old, indicating that civilization was not unknown in this part of the world in antiquity.

Not far from Lake Titicaca the Incan's celebrated the Inti Rayami festival (also called Rama-Sitva) which researchers have linked with the celebration of the winter Solstice. Sir William Jones (1744 - 1794) stated in his papers published by the the Asiatic Society that the Incan festival 'Rama-Sitva' celebrated on the Winter Solstice Day gets its name from the Hindu God King, Sri Rama and his wife, Goddess Sita. The Winter Solstice Day is celebrated in June in Peru. (Peru lies in the southern Hemisphere and the winter solstice day falls in June).

But now, back to Brazil. In his book, Mysteries of Ancient South America, author Harold T. Wilkins writes about the findings of an expedition in the 1920s lead by Colonel P.H. Fawcett into the woods of the Brazilian Amazon where he chanced upon an ancient city and some rock inscriptions, about which Wilkins says, "... those strange writings are something more remarkable... they are of an esoteric Hindu cult." (page 63).

Writing about the inscriptions, he further adds," I have myself discovered some queer links between these strange letters of old Brazil, and characters found in Tibet and Vedic Hindostan". (Page 118).

For example, the inscriptions on the Inga stone of Brazil have been compared to RongoRongo (the ancient script of Easter Island located in the South Pacific Ocean, which itself bears a close resemblance to the Indus Valley script.


Ancient Brazilian inscriptions


Another view of ancient Brazilian inscriptions

In 1932, Wilhelm de Hevesy was the first academic to suggest a link between Rongorongo and the Indus script of the Indus Valley Civilization in India, claiming that as many as forty Rongorongo symbols had a correlating symbol in the Indus valley script from India.

The Inga Stone Inscription of Brazil
is similar to the RongoRongo- the ancient script
of Easter Island (Pascoa) which is similar to Indus valley Script.

See table below.

A comparison of Easter Island Script (column II, IV, VI...)
and that of Indus Valley (columns I,III, V...) show
that they are identical.


Suggested Links: 
1. South American Tribes
2. Folk Etymology
3.Vedic Origins of Greek God 'Pan'
4. Easter island and Indus valley Script
5. Mysteries of Ancient South America
6. Lost Civilizations of the Andes
7. From Khyber (Kheeber) Pass to Gran Quivira (Kheevira)
8. Mysteries of Ancient South America - Harold T. Wilkins

Friday 5 September 2014

ANCIENT SUMERIAN TEMPLES & CITIES - THE 'INDRA' AND SANSKRIT CONNECTION

The most ancient city according to Sumerian inscriptions is Eridu. It is the city from which the Sumerian civilization is said to have emerged. Worship was central to the Sumerian civilization. Amazingly, in Sanskrit the word 'Iradh' (इरध्) of which Eridu might be a distortion, means 'worship'. 


The ruins of Eridu, the ancient Sumerian temple city.
Iridh ( इरध् ) is Sanskrit for 'worship'.

The Zagros Mountains make the back-drop for the ancient cities of Sumerian civilization.


The 'Zagros' mountains were named after a seafaring race,
the Sagar-tians. 'Sagara' is Sanskrit for 'sea'. 


The Zagros Mountains in Iran-Iraq were named after an ancient nomadic tribe, referred to by the name 'Sagar-tians'. Stephanus Byzantinus (6th century AD), who was the author of a geographical dictionary entitled 'Ethnica', wrote that there was a peninsula in the Caspian Sea called 'Sagartia' and that the Sagartians moved south from Sagrtia to what were later known as Zagros mountains. In Sanskrit 'sagara' (सागर) means 'sea' and its other form 'sagartia' means 'of the sea'. The Zagros mountains were named after the Sagar-tian tribe who were also referred to as Zagar-thians. The Zagros formed the backdrop to the ancient cities of Sumerian and Babylonian civilization. For more on the ancient cities of central Asia and the Sanskrit connection to their names, click here.

Samuel Noah Kramer writes in his book 'The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character', "... it was rite and ritual...which played a prominent role in their (Sumerian) religion. Since man was created for no other purpose than to serve the gods, it was obviously his major duty to perform and perfect this service in a manner pleasing and satisfactory to his masters...".

Central then to the city of Eridu was its many temples which were simple in structure but as time went on the buildings became more complex - however what remained constant was a niche for an idol and an altar for offerings.

One of the ancient sacred temples of Sumer was known as 'gipar-ku'. That name seems to be a distortion of the Sanskrit 'gopura' (गोपुर) meaning 'temple gate'.

Samuel Kramer states. "The building and re-building of a temple was accompanied by numerous rites and rituals, as is evidenced by that long and remarkable hymnal narrative poem inscribed on the two Gudea cylinders excavated in Lagash... . the temple head was known as the sanga, and his duties were no doubt to keep the temple building and finances in good order....the spiritual head of the temple was the en who lived in a part of the temple known as gipar.  Under the en were a number of priestly classes including .. mah, ishib, nindigir...." . 


Here is a look at these Sumerian terms through the Sanskrit lens: 'En '(इन) is 'glorious', 'master', 'ruler', 'sun' etc, 'mah' (मह्) is strong or powerful. 'Ishib' may be a distortion of 'Ishva', the 'v' often changing to 'b' as in 'Bishnu' derived from 'Vishnu' - 'Ishva' (इष्व) meaning 'vedic teacher'. 'Nindigir' may be a distorted version of 'nandikar' (नान्दीकर) meaning 'speaker' or 'one who addresses' or 'speaker of prologue'.

An analysis of the inscriptions of the Gudea cylinders by Sanskrit scholars, well versed in Vedic hymns, can reveal any links to the Rig, Sama and Yajur Vedic verses of ancient India.

The Gudea Cylinder are inscribed
with hymns and chants
accompanying the construction of temples

Sumerian legends repeatedly mention a paradise-land by the name 'Dilmun', which Samuel Kramer states is "...perhaps to be identified with ancient India...". In Sanskrit a close cognate of Dilmun is 'Dalmi' (दल्मि) which is another name for lord 'Indra'.

In the Sumerian legend 'Dilmun' is a land that is 'pure', 'bright' and 'clean', though it lacks water until the Sumerian water-god Enki orders 'Utu' the sun-god to fill it with fresh water. Enki too therefore seems to be the Sumerian avatar of Indra, the Vedic god of rain. 

Sumer itself is often interpreted as Su-meru (सुमेरु),   meaning 'excellent mountain' - the sacred peak of Vedic cosmology. 

1. The Sumerians: Their History, Culture and Character
2. Ur Excavations Volume VII The Old Babylonian Period
3. Myths and Legends of Babylon
4. Rama: King of Sumer


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